Closure system for a reservoir of a freeze-dried product dispensing device

ABSTRACT

A closure system adapted to closing off in leaktight manner a reservoir ( 50 ) of a dispenser device for dispensing a freeze-dried substance, said closure system being characterized in that it comprises a closure element ( 1 ) having a fixing portion ( 10 ) co-operating in leaktight manner with the reservoir ( 50 ), and a closure portion ( 11 ) comprising a radial diaphragm ( 11 ) provided with a slit ( 12 ), interference between said closure portion ( 11 ) and said reservoir ( 50 ) being zero or almost zero, so that the slit ( 12 ) can open to either side whenever pressure is exerted on the other side of said closure portion ( 11 ), said slit ( 12 ) being closed in leaktight manner in the absence of such pressure.

[0001] The present invention relates to a closure system, and more particularly to a closure system for closing off a reservoir of a dispenser device for dispensing a freeze-dried substance, the substance being freeze dried directly inside the reservoir of the dispenser device. The invention also relates to such a reservoir and to such a dispenser device.

[0002] In a dispenser device for dispensing a freeze-dried substance, two reservoirs are generally provided, one containing a freeze-dried powder and the other containing a solvent, the contents of the two reservoirs being mixed just before dispensing, so as to reconstitute the freeze-dried powder into a fluid that can be sprayed. In that type of device, it is preferable to perform the freeze-drying directly inside the reservoir of the device rather than filling the reservoir with a powder that has already been freeze-dried.

[0003] However, that method involves certain constraints that must all be satisfied inside the freeze-drying equipment. Thus, it is necessary firstly to generate a vacuum inside the reservoir containing the substance to be freeze-dried. Then, freeze-drying is implemented. Then, the pressure inside the reservoir must be re-balanced. Finally, it is necessary to close off said reservoir in leaktight manner.

[0004] Currently, closing off the reservoir, which is generally made of glass, is the most significant problem to be overcome because it must be achieved inside the freeze-drying equipment, and therefore in a restricted and enclosed space. In addition, the final step of closing off the reservoir in leaktight manner must not increase the pressure inside said reservoir.

[0005] Finally, the system should be adaptable to any type of currently known standard reservoir, and therefore not require any modification of said reservoir, which would increase the cost of manufacturing and assembling the device.

[0006] An object of the present invention is thus to provide a closure system which does not reproduce the above-mentioned drawbacks and which satisfies all of the above requirements.

[0007] An object of the present invention is thus to provide a closure system that is simple and inexpensive to assemble and that adapts to any type of reservoir, in particular standard reservoirs.

[0008] An object of the present invention is also to provide a closure system which makes it possible to freeze dry a fluid inside said reservoir.

[0009] The present invention thus provides a closure system adapted to closing off in leaktight manner a reservoir of a dispenser device for dispensing a freeze-dried substance, said closure system being characterized in that it comprises a closure element having a fixing portion co-operating in leaktight manner with the reservoir, and a closure portion comprising a radial diaphragm provided with a slit, interference between said closure portion and said reservoir being zero or almost zero, so that the slit can open to either side whenever pressure is exerted on the other side of said closure portion, said slit being closed in leaktight manner in the absence of such pressure.

[0010] Advantageously, said pressure sufficient to open said slit on one side is substantially identical to said pressure sufficient to open said slit on the other side.

[0011] Preferably, said fixing portion comprises a hollow cylindrical body fitted in leaktight manner axially into said reservoir, a radial gap being provided between at least a portion of the outside radial periphery of said diaphragm and the inside side wall of the reservoir.

[0012] In a first embodiment of the invention, said radial gap is provided over the entire outside radial periphery of the diaphragm, so that interference between said closure portion and said reservoir is zero.

[0013] Advantageously, said closure portion has an outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of said reservoir.

[0014] In a second embodiment of the present invention, said outside radial periphery of said diaphragm is provided with one or more grooves forming the radial gap relative to the inside wall of the reservoir, so that interference between said closure portion and said reservoir is very small.

[0015] Advantageously, said closure element further comprises a pre-positioning portion extending radially beyond said closure portion, said grooves in the outside radial periphery of the diaphragm being extended in said pre-positioning portion so that the closure element can be pre-positioned in the opening of the reservoir, the pre-positioning portion being inserted into said reservoir and said grooves forming a passageway between the inside of the reservoir and the outside of the system, making it possible to freeze dry the substance contained in the reservoir.

[0016] Preferably, said closure element is made of an elastomer material.

[0017] The present invention also provides a dispenser device for dispensing a freeze-dried substance that includes a closure system as described above, and a dispenser device for dispensing a freeze-dried substance that incorporates such a reservoir.

[0018] Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appear more clearly from the following detailed description of two embodiments of the present invention given by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019]FIG. 1 is a side view, partially in section, of a closure system in a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 2 is a view similar to the FIG. 1 view showing the closure element of FIG. 1 as positioned inside the reservoir;

[0021]FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 of a second embodiment of the closure system of the invention, with the closure element disposed in a pre-positioned position; and

[0022]FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, showing the closure element of FIG. 3 disposed inside the reservoir.

[0023] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a first embodiment of the invention is described. In the first embodiment, the closure system comprises a closure element 1 which is adapted to close off a reservoir 50 in leaktight manner. The closure element has a fixing portion 10 that co-operates in leaktight manner with the reservoir 50, in particular with its inside side wall, and in particular by means of peripheral sealing ridges that flatten against the inside wall of the reservoir to form a plurality of sealing beads. The closure element 1 also has a closure portion 11 which is advantageously provided with a slit 12 that is shown only diagrammatically and that is preferably situated in the center of said closure portion 11. The closure portion 11 is preferably implemented in the form of a radial diaphragm incorporating said slit 12. As shown in the drawings, the closure element 1 is preferably provided with a fixing portion formed by a hollow cylindrical body 10 which defines a recess 2, said hollow cylinder 10 being closed off by said radial diaphragm 11 incorporating said slit 12.

[0024] In the invention, interference between said closure portion and the reservoir is zero or almost zero. In the first embodiment, such interference is zero, as can be seen in FIG. 2. A radial gap 30 is provided between the outside radial periphery of the diaphragm 11 and the inside wall of the reservoir 50. This is advantageously achieved by means of a closure portion 11 that has an outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of the reservoir 50, and thus also smaller than the outside diameter of the fixing portion 10 of the closure element 1. Such absence of interference between the outside periphery of the closure portion 11 and the inside side wall of the reservoir 50 results in there being no pressure exerted on said closure portion 11, so that the slit 12 opens very easily as soon as any pressure occurs on either side of the diaphragm 11.

[0025] Therefore, the system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be used to perform freeze-drying in the reservoir 50. For this purpose, the closure element is inserted into the reservoir 50, as shown in FIG. 2, into its closure position, in which the closure portion formed by the diaphragm 11 closes off said reservoir 50 in leaktight manner, with the slit 12 being closed. It is very easy to generate a vacuum inside the reservoir 50 by decreasing the pressure in the recess 2 disposed on the outside of the diaphragm 11, thereby causing the slit 12 to open towards said recess 2, and thus making it possible to generate a vacuum inside the reservoir 50. Similarly, re-balancing the pressure can be achieved easily through the slit 12 in the diaphragm 11, said slit 12 re-closing automatically into the leaktight position when the pressure is identical on either side of the diaphragm 11. Any interference between the radial outside periphery of the diaphragm 11 and the inside of the reservoir 50 results in generating a certain pressure threshold below which the slit does not open, while the presence of said radial gap 30 makes it possible for said diaphragm to deform without stress, and thus for said slit 12 to open easily.

[0026] A second embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that interference between the inside wall of the reservoir 50 and the closure portion 11 formed by the diaphragm incorporating the slit 12 is not completely zero when the closure element is in the closure position, but rather it is very small by means of the presence of grooves 19 in said outside radial periphery of said diaphragm 11, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In which case, the outside diameter of the closure portion 11 is substantially identical to the diameter of the fixing portion 10, said grooves 19 making the diaphragm 11 easier to deform, and thus the slit 12 easier to open.

[0027] Advantageously, in the second embodiment, the closure element 1 is further provided with pre-positioning means 15 that extend axially beyond said diaphragm 11, said grooves 19 being extended in the periphery of said pre-positioning portion 15, as shown in the figures. This implementation makes it possible to use a freeze-drying method that is slightly different from the method explained with reference to the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the closure element 1 is firstly placed in its pre-positioned position shown in FIG. 3, with the pre-positioning portion 15 inserted into the reservoir 50 and the closure element being retained in said position by the shoulder 7 formed by the outside periphery of the diaphragm 11 incorporating the slit 12. Advantageously, the pre-positioning portion fits into the reservoir 50 snugly, thereby improving the stability of the closure element 1 in the pre-positioned position. The pre-positioned position makes it possible to generate a vacuum and subsequently to re-balance the pressure after freeze-drying through the grooves 19 that connect the inside of the reservoir 50 to the outside of the closure system. Thus, in the second embodiment, freeze-drying the substance contained in the reservoir 50 poses no problem because the grooves 19 remove any obstacle to evaporation during the freeze-drying process. Then, at the end of freeze-drying, the closure element 1 is pushed towards its final position shown in FIG. 4, the fixing portion 10 coming to engage in the reservoir 50 and the increase in pressure generated inside the reservoir by this action is automatically removed through the slit 12 provided in the diaphragm 11. As in the above-described first embodiment, a top radial flange or shoulder 8 is provided to form an abutment for the closure element 1 against the top edge of the reservoir 50, and it defines the closure position.

[0028] The present invention thus forms a closure element that is not only adapted to enable the substance to be freeze dried inside the reservoir, but that also, naturally, closes off said reservoir in leaktight manner and that enables the freeze-dried powder to be transformed easily into a fluid substance by being mixed with a solvent. The low level of interaction between the closure portion 11 and the reservoir 50 also makes it easy for the solvent to be fed into the reservoir 50 through the slit 12, and makes it easy for the re-mixed substance contained in the reservoir to be dispensed, also through said slit 12, if so desired. Naturally, other means for re-liquefying the freeze-dried substance and/or for dispensing it may be considered. However, regardless of the system used to mix the freeze-dried substance with the solvent, it is important for the air contained in the powder reservoir 50 to be easily expelled when the solvent is fed in, which is guaranteed by the present invention.

[0029] The invention is described with reference to two particular embodiments but clearly various modifications may be made without going beyond the ambit of the present invention as defined by the accompanying claims. 

1/ A closure system adapted to closing off in leaktight manner a reservoir (50) of a dispenser device for dispensing a freeze-dried substance, said closure system being characterized in that it comprises a closure element (1) having a fixing portion (10) co-operating in leaktight manner with the reservoir (50), and a closure portion (11) comprising a radial diaphragm (11) provided with a slit (12), interference between said closure portion (11) and said reservoir (50) being zero or almost zero, so that the slit (12) can open to either side whenever pressure is exerted on the other side of said closure portion (11), said slit (12) being closed in leaktight manner in the absence of such pressure. 2/ A system according to claim 1, in which said pressure sufficient to open said slit (12) on one side is substantially identical to said pressure sufficient to open said slit (12) on the other side. 3/ A system according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which said fixing portion (10) comprises a hollow cylindrical body (10) fitted in leaktight manner axially into said reservoir (50), a radial gap (30) being provided between at least a portion of the outside radial periphery of said diaphragm (11) and the inside side wall of the reservoir (50). 4/ A system according to claim 3, in which said radial gap (30) is provided over the entire outside radial periphery of the diaphragm (11), so that interference between said closure portion (11) and said reservoir (50) is zero. 5/ A system according to claim 4, in which said closure portion (11) has an outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of said reservoir (50). 6/ A system according to claim 3, in which said outside radial periphery of said diaphragm (11) is provided with one or more grooves (19) forming the radial gap (30) relative to the inside wall of the reservoir (50), so that interference between said closure portion (11) and said reservoir (50) is very small. 7/ A system according to claim 6, in which said closure element (1) further comprises a pre-positioning portion (15) extending radially beyond said closure portion (11), said grooves (19) in the outside radial periphery of the diaphragm (11) being extended in said pre-positioning portion (15) so that the closure element (1) can be pre-positioned in the opening of the reservoir (50), the pre-positioning portion (15) being inserted into said reservoir (50) and said grooves (19) forming a passageway between the inside of the reservoir (50) and the outside of the system, in particular during freeze drying of the substance contained in the reservoir (50). 8/ A system according to any preceding claim, in which said closure element (1) is made of an elastomer material. 9/ A reservoir (50) of a dispenser device for dispensing a freeze-dried substance, said reservoir being characterized in that it includes a closure system according to any one of claims 1 to
 8. 10/ A dispenser device for dispensing a freeze-dried substance, said dispenser device being characterized in that it includes a reservoir (50) according to claim
 9. 